1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to home network systems, and more specifically to a system and method for downloading selected multimedia content and applications based on a home network system configuration profile.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modern home network systems provide interoperability of a variety of different types of consumer electronics devices used in a common home environment. Examples of such devices include workstations, personal computers, digital televisions, Personal Video Recorders (PVR's), set-top boxes, digital video recorders, game devices, personal digital assistants (PDA's), printers, audio devices (e.g., jukebox AV systems, CD players and mini-disc players), and audio/video (AV) hard drives providing additional storage of AV data that may be streamed to other devices. Home network systems provide for sharing of the resources of each of the electronics device in order to accomplish more sophisticated applications by providing seamless exchange of instructions and AV data between the peripheral devices.
In order to handle the exchange of both commands and multiple digital AV streams, a home network must employ a networking standard that guarantees quality of service. A number of flexible home network standards have been developed. As an example, the Home Audio Video interoperability (HAVi) standard, developed by eight major Consumer Electronics companies including Sony Corporation, provides a home network architecture is open, scaleable in implementation complexity, platform independent, and language neutral. The HAVi architecture uses the digital IEEE-1394 serial interface standard which is a high speed bus that meets the required multimedia bandwidth requirements and provides quality of service. HAVi is based on the IEEE-1394 standard, to allow devices to send and receive digital commands and streams of digital AV content at speeds up to 400 Mbps. Other home networks use Ethernet.
It is common that at least one of the devices in a home network system, such as a PC, will be configured to access the Internet. The Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) is an industry group working to define and promote an open standard for connecting the coming generation of smart consumer and small business appliances with commercial Internet services. The Open Services Gateway specification will provide a common foundation for Internet Service Providers, network operators and equipment manufacturers to deliver a wide range of e-services via gateway servers running in the home or remote office. However, there as yet no system and method for providing e-services for operating, maintaining, and diagnosing problems associated with consumer electronic devices via gateway servers running in the home or remote office.
The benefit of a network of interoperable devices is that the whole is greater than the sum of all the components. Home networks enable sharing of device resources in order to accomplish sophisticated applications by providing seamless exchange of instructions and AV data between electronic devices in the home network. Home network systems typically allow for configuring at least one device (e.g., a personal computer system) to be a controlling device that is operative to provide for remotely controlling other electronic devices in the home network system. For example, a user may program a recording on a VCR following a menu generated by the TV on the TV screen.
In HAVi standard home networks, there is no single controlling device. Any device in the network that has been designed to do so can control other devices. In order for a controlling device to control a particular controlled device in a home network, the controlling device must be able to access a particular application having instructions executable by the controlling device for controlling a particular controlled device, or providing other services associated with the device.
Some of the electronic devices in a home network system may be packaged and sold with a disk having an associated control application stored thereon for controlling the device. For these devices, the control application could be loaded to the controlling device from the disk. However, for other electronic devices, it may be that no compatible application is available.
The types of applications and media contents which may be used in a particular home network system depends on the particular configuration and capabilities of the system. Each home network system may include different types of consumer electronic devices and different types of means for interconnecting the devices. Adding new electronics devices to a home network system often expands the capabilities of the home network to execute different types of applications and media content. Because there are so many different configurations for a home network system, it is difficult for a user to be able to determine what types of applications and media content may be used in his or her home network as it is currently configured.
What is needed is a system and method for identifying and accessing applications and media content that may be used in a particular home network system.